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Time to renew Fiona Crean’s contract: Fiorito

Some members of city council — I mean you, , and some of your mushy-middle ilk — appear balky about the renewal of Toronto’s ombudsman.

The discussion comes before council today and oh, well, you know, she’s done a thorough job but it’s time for renewal, time for change, blah, blah.

Here is what Pasternak said, precisely: “Public service is notorious for not renewing some of our personnel. This is an opportunity to do that.”

Stop right there.

This council, of which Mr. Pasternak is a member, voted, with one voice and one mind, to renew the contract of this city’s auditor-general.

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Let me further the comparison: Fiona Crean has served five years and a bit as ombudsman; she is currently eligible for another five-year term. Meanwhile, the auditor-general of the city of Toronto has been in place for 17 years in a row.

Notorious for not renewing?

Hardly the case when — I repeat — the auditor-general of the city of Toronto has been in place for, what was it?

Oh, yes, 17 years in a row.

Why is the sauce for the auditor-general’s goose not good enough for the ombudsman’s gander?

The mighty Ms Crean has been thorough, and I would say courageous, in her work; no one, not even Pasternak, denies that.

And so let me point out that the ombudsman we have, and the ombudsman we know, is better than the ombudsman we do not — a calculation that applies equally to the left, the right and the mushy Pasternakian middle.

In my considered view, Fiona Crean has produced some of the finest and proudest moments in civics that this city has seen in the past few years.

She is the one who held the CEO of the Toronto Community Housing Corporation to account, as a result of which Gene Jones was fired by his board. Do you remember the tooth-gnashing rage of the mayor and his brother? I merely note that Gene Jones was fired by a board — read this carefully — led by a Ford man.

Crean is also the one who stared the mayor down and cleaned up the mess that was this city’s public appointments process, for the good of us all.

If you want other, even finer examples of her work, go here, and see whose afflictions she has comforted.

Oddly enough, she has halted the gravy train so well that the mayor, if he had any wits — there’s a big if — would take the credit for himself.

On a personal note, I remind you that she is the one who pushed TCHC to appoint an advocate for seniors, something recommended years ago as a result of the LeSage enquiry into the death of Al Gosling.

She did what I could not do.

But wait, I hear councillor Pasternak in the background, muttering about the ombudsman’s use of “unnecessarily harsh language” and “hyperbole.” Here is some of that harsh language:

“Unrule[y] Behaviour: An Investigation Into Toronto Community Housing’s Human Resources Policies and Practices.”

Seriously? The only thing harsh, apart from the bad habits of Gene Jones, is that pun in the title of the report.

In any case, Pasternak surely ought to know that the ombudsman is not writing to him, nor is she writing to his fellow mushy middlers — she is writing to those, and for those, who have been hurt by the abuse of city process, or who have been bullied by city personnel.

Not only should Fiona Crean’s contract be renewed — assuming, of course, that she would accept a renewal — but she ought to be given a raise, and rose petals should be strewn in her path when she walks. Better still:

The money that we would have spent on raises and roses ought to be used to buttress the good work of her office. Why? Because, unlike some others, she has made this city a better place.

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